Liberation: What is Moksha?

 Excerpts from Swamiji Krishnanandaji Maharaj's speech

(Our relationship with the Cosmos)

We have gathered here to exercise our minds in the direction of our true blessedness.  These are days when people are intensely conscious of the environment of the world.  The vast atmosphere around us is the environment.  It not only influences us minute by minute every day, but on careful analysis we will realize that we are inseparable from this environment.  The environment spoken of is a kind of society external to us.

The world is our neighbor. The neighbor is a friendly being, and also a fearsome something.  So is nature.  Nothing can be more friendly to us than the vast nature, because it is the mother out of which we are born.  The very stuff of our body is made up of the five elements – earth, water, fire, air and ether, if that is the case, how do we consider ourselves as outwardly existing, external to nature?

Space is extended, as it were and is causing a dimension of distance, all of which makes us believe that the stars are far, far away from us.  It is not so. Do you feel that your head is far away from your toe?

The integrating power, which is the I-ness abolishes the apparent distance measurable geometrically from the toe to the head.  Likewise, a cosmic cohesive force which may be called the Cosmic Mind, or the divinities operating everywhere, is actually the reason why we are existing as we are existing.

We live in this world, in this body, only so long as our assertive nature of our false independence continues.  When that is lifted up, we will not exist at all.

We say, “We want Moksha (liberation), Salvation, for which purpose we are practicing Sadhana”.  What is the kind of moksha that we are aspiring for? It is actually the longing for mumukshutva (means the desire) – to free ourselves from the shackles of individuality, from the limitations of particularized existence and from the false identification.

Moksha, liberation, is just a simple thing.  It is an enlargement of the consciousness into the dimension of the widest possible extent, until it reaches a point where it overcomes the ideas of even space and time.

What we require, is an intense training of our own mind, enabling the mind to think in terms of its vast potentiality.

Our minds are the droplets of the cosmic Mind just like the drops are the ocean only. To attain moksha, so much time is necessary as it is necessary for a drop in the ocean to sink into the ocean.  How much time does it require?  It has only to realize that it is inseparable from the Ocean.

We think of the individuality of ours is all in all, not knowing that we cannot even exist without contribution or support from nature outside and the vast atmosphere.

We have nothing in us except egoism (Ahamkara).  Every moment we assert it – subconsciously, consciously or otherwise. Like the poet who expressed, “ The egoism asserts that it is better to be a King in hell than a servant in heaven”.

“I am what I am” is the affirmation of your isolated individuality. Then there is no question of liberation. 

“Whoever thinks of me deeply, undividedly, for such a person I provide everything, and take care of what is so provided,” is a great promise that we read in one of the verses of the Bhagavad Gita.

“ananyascintayantomam yejanah paryupasate tesam nityabhiyuktanam yogakshemam vahamyahmam”.

It is not the son of Vasudeva or Devaki, Krishna, who is speaking.  Krishna is only a symbolic mouth piece of this whole universe speaking to you: “Come unto me and I shall give you what ever you need”.  That is what is called the Vishvarupa, which Bhagavan Sri Krishna showed.  But you are telling it, “You go away from here. I mind my business”. Then how will you get anything?

Unless you want liberation, it cannot come. Mumukshutva is the longing for it.  There is no other qualification necessary except for one:  you should want it. Your heart should want it. Mind is nothing but the object that we think of.  So Mumukshutva is longing for liberation, from this limited individual physical existence.

 Reference:

Please visit www.Swami-Krishnananda.org:  and read the full discourse by Swamiji “The attainment of the infinite”. Chapter 1 – our relationship with the cosmos

Self-Realization: Path of action or the Path of knowledge.

"The wise sees knowledge and power as one; they see truly" - Bhagavad Gita

The following excerpt from Shankaracharya’s discourse at Jnana Vapi shows how he created a bridge between the path of knowledge and the path of action.

“Jnana Vapi” means “well of knowledge”.  It is also the name of an area that lies behind the famous temple of Shiva in Banaras.  While Shankaracharya was in Banaras a spiritual conference was arranged to take advantage of his presence.

Some one from the audience started the discussion by saying, “According to you, sir, knowledge alone is the liberating force.  The individual soul becomes bound to the cycle of birth and death as a result of its actions, and therefore in order to attain liberation we must stop performing actions.  If that is the case, how are we to survive in the world?”

Shankaracharya replied, “It’s true that ultimately knowledge is the only liberating force.  But we cannot disregard our duties and follow the path of knowledge exclusively.  In fact, there is no contradiction between the path of knowledge and the path of action.  It is simply a matter of following aparticular path at a particular stage of life.  As long as we have not understood the nature of our internal world, the nature of our body, breath, mind and soul, as well as our relationship with the external world, we must adhere to the path of action”.

“But even though we are following the path of action, we must keep exploring its strengths and weaknesses.  We must also keep in mind the importance of discovering the inner essence of knowledge.  The path of knowledge leads directly to Self-realization.  But the path of action is in no way inferior to the path of knowledge, because it helps lead us to the path of knowledge.”

“No one can survive without performing actions. But if we perform them without paying attention to the process of action, to the fruits of action, and to our attitude toward the fruits of action, then it entangles us in the snare of birth and death, and to the experience that come between birth and death”.

“Therefore in the process of performing actions we must learn how to be skillful. Most of our actions are motivated either by the desire to gain something or by the fear that we will end up with something we do not want.  Thus from the beginning our mind is focused on the fruits of actions and when these fruits are achieved, we become attached to them.  If the fruits are not achieved, we are disappointed and dissatisfied because of our intense desire and high expectations.  In both cases, fear is the inevitable outcome.  Either we fear losing the objects we have achieved through our efforts, or we fear that we will not achieve those objects.”

“This fear cripples our creativity and destroys our peace of mind.  If we are successful in our actions we cannot rest, because either we want more or we are afraid of losing whatever we have attained so far.  If we are unsuccessful we are tortured by insecurity and fear of the future.  So we must learn how to perform actions without getting attached to their fruits.”

As Shankaracharya paused, someone from the audience interrupted: “Sir, even the most ignorant people have some idea of why they are tring to do something.  Before attempting to act on the physical level, they think about what they want to accomplish.  As the objective becomes clear, they decide on what means and resources to use to achieve that goal.  As a result, they perform an action.  Therefore, behind any action there is some degree of desire.  The stronger the desire, the more energy is devoted to the task.  Because of that desire, people place a value on the goal they want to achieve.  And depending on how valuable that goal is, they decide which other tasks should be postponed or disregarded.  Thus I do not understand how they can even begin to perform their actions without any desire or attachment to the fruits”.

Shankaracharya replied, “I did not mean that we should set a task at random and start performing it without having a goal.  There are three kinds of actions.  First, there are the compulsory actions we must perform for the sake of maintaining our existence: eating, bathing and cleaning our houses and clothes are examples.  These actions do not create karmic bonds”.

“The second kind of actions are obligatory.  We must perform them for the sake of maintaining healthy relationships with others.  For example, we have karmic bonds with our closest relatives that can be loosened only paying off our karmic debts to those who are connected with us.  We must discharge our obligations to our parents, our children, our spouse, and even to our community and society.  Although we are often tempted to underestimate the importance of these duties, deep in our heart we know that their call cannot be ignored without creating inner conflict and guilt.  Self-condemnation results.  Avoiding thisis reason enough to perform these obligatory actions.  They create karmic bonds only if they are not performed”.

“The third category includes actions we perform with the intention of achieving specific objects for either temporal or so called heavenly purposes.  These actions are binding.  It is the nature of the human mind not to be satisfied with performing only the first two kinds of actions – it takes them for granted.  The sense of purposefulness, satisfaction, and fulfillment comes when we perform actions that are not mandatory.  They are the challenge for us.”

“In this area we must learn to perform our actions selflessly, lovingly, and skillfully, and then we must surrender the fruits of these actions to the higher truth.  By doing so, we minimize the effect of previous karmic bonds.  In other words, attempting to attain freedom from the bondage of karma by performing actions is like using one thorn to extract another.  Sooner or later we reach the realm where there are no more thorns.  That is the realm of knowledge”.

“Understanding that the purpose of performing actions is to extract the roots of previously performed actions gives us the strength we need to perform our actions selflessly and lovingly without becoming attached to their fruits – which then become like extracted thorns.  Extract one thorn with another, and throw them both away.  In this way we attain freedom from the bondage of karma.”

“It is necessary to have the desire to extract the thorns of our previous action.  This is not an unhealthy desire – it motivates us to perform our actions.  It is the desire to keep the fruits that is binding.”

In this way Shankaracharya shared his knowledge and elevated the consciousness of those who studied and practiced under his guidance while he was in Banaras.

Excerpts from:

The Himalayan Masters: A living tradition by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait

Free Weekly online Meditation sessions. Every Saturday 7:00AM NY EST

The BabaTimes: With the blessings of Gurudev Shri Sivananda Maharaj, Free Weekly online Guided meditation sessions and discussions on spiritual topics are held online to benefit spiritual seekers.

Free online conference on ‘Guided Meditation Sessions’ and ‘Discussions on spiritual Topics based on Hindu Scriptures like Vedas, Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita’ is held  every Saturday at 7.00 AM NY EST





 



The Meditation session and spiritual discussions are held under the guidance of Swamiji Shri Padmanabhanandaji, of Divine Life Society, Rishikesh, India. 

The session starts with introduction and invocation prayers. Prior to silent meditation session, a recorded prayer by Swamiji Chidananda Maharaj is played. Then spiritual discussion starts.

Each week a topic for discussion is emailed to the spiritual seekers.  This week's svadyaya for discussion is "Stillness in the midst of activity" by Swamiji Chidananda Maharaj.

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Sri Aurobindo on Meditation - Part I

There are two words used in English to express the Indian idea of Dhyana, “Meditation” and “Contemplation”.  Meditation means properly the concentration of the mind on a single train of ideas which work out a single subject.  Contemplation means regarding mentally a single object, image, idea so that the knowledge about the object, image or idea may arise naturally in the mind by force of the concentration.  Both these things are forms of Dhyana, for the principle of Dhyana is mental concentration whether in thought, vision or knowledge.

There are other forms of Dhyana.  There is a passage in which Vivekananda advises you to stand back from your thoughts, let them occur in your mind as they will and simply observe them and see what they are.  This may be called concentration in self-observation.

This form leads to another, the emptying of all thought out of the mind so as to leave it a sort of pure vigilant blank on which the divine knowledge may come and imprint itself, undisturbed by the inferior thoughts of the ordinary human mind and with the clearness of a writing in a white chalk on a black board.  You will find that the Gita speaks of this rejection of all mental thought as one of the methods of yoga and even the method it seems to prefer.  This may be called the Dhyana of liberation, as it frees the mind from slavery to the mechanical process of thinking and allows it to think or not to think, as it pleases and when it pleases, to choose its own thoughts or else to go beyond thought to the pure perception of Truth called in our philosophy Vijnana.

Meditation is the easiest process for the human mind, but the narrowest in its results; contemplation more difficult, but greater; self-observation and liberation from the chains of Thought the most difficult of all, but the widest and greatest in its fruits.  One can choose any of them according to one’s bent and capacity.  The perfect method is to use them all, each in its own place and for its own object; but this would need a fixed faith and firm patience and a great energy of Will in the self-application to the yoga.

References:

Growing within – The psychology of Inner Development

(Compilation of the works of Sri Aurobindo)

Guru - Pandurang Shastri Athavale (Swadhyaya)

Pandurang Shastri Athavale, lovingly knows as Dada (elder brother), founder of Swadhyaya (swa-di’-a-ya) movement, is the recipient of the prestigious Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion.  Based on Vedanta philosophy, Swadhyaya literally means the study, knowledge and discovery of the “Self.”

Swadhyaya is based on the philosophy of the Bhagawad Gita. Tat twam asi (That thou art) and Aham-brahma-asmi (I am divine) are the twin principles of the Vedanta on which the Swadhyaya movement is founded.

Dadaji's philosophy is as follows:

·         God exists.

·         God exists within me.

·         That makes me divine and worthy of self-respect.

·         That makes others divine and worthy of respect.

·         Since God exists, and exists within me, it follows that God also exists within the whole universe.  Everything in this universe is therefore divine and to be reverenced.

·         This means that my attitude towards myself, others and the universe is one of respect and reverence.

·         It also means I am related to everything in the Universe by virtue of having a common creator.

·         The above two points motivate me to care for the welfare of others, for I am related to them.  And respect pre-empts me from damaging them in any way.

·         Over and above this, the central reality of my existence is God, and my only aim in life is to realize the God within me.  How may I do that?  Through the three Vedic paths of jnana, bhakti, and karma.  Jnana is the path of knowledge or self-study (Swadhyaya) which indicates not only introspection but knowing the self through knowing others.

·         Bhakti is an understanding of God’s nearness to me and my relation to Him.  Such an awareness fills me with love and gratitude to Him for looking after my welfare, and motivates me to do something for him, which is to look after His universe.

·         The path of self-realization through karma lies in selfless action, when one does one’s duty with no consideration for profit or loss.

·         All three paths to self-realization, therefore, lead me towards humanity and the universe, which motivates me once again to have its welfare at heart.

In Dadaji’s scheme of things, therefore, contradictions do not exist.  The spiritual and the material aspects of life are perfectly welded, as are individual and collective welfare.  His vision of man is that of a perfectly integrated being, who is linked through bonds of respect, devotion and brotherhood to himself, to others and to the universe.  Such a man has confidence and self-respect.  His awareness of divinity fills him with heroism, courage and the determination to live life to the fullest.  His ideals are noble and unfaltering, for he never loses sight of his ultimate aim of self-realization.  And his commitment to the welfare of humanity and the universe is unshakeable.  Such a man not only leads a joyful. Full, successful and noble life, he does so through helping others realize it.  He is also highly rational.  For his self-respect frees his mind of slavery and enables him to discriminate good from bad.

All in all, Swadhyaya recognizes that what human beings need, besides food, shelter and security, essentially consists of the following:

·         Self-dignity and esteem for one’s cultural heritage,

·         a sense of becoming,

·         a sense of pursuing worthy ideals,

·         a sense of belonging to a worthy group

·         a sense of being in command of one’s destiny,

·         a sense of wholeness, and

·         a sense of justice in the larger order.

Dada is a supporter of Varnavyavastha (four-fold division of ancient Indian social order), but he gives it an entirely new meaning.  For him, everyone who does God’s work is a Brahmin since God resides in him.  An asprashya (untouchable) is one who has been deserted by God.  Cultivators are bhumiputras (sons of the soil); fishermen are sagarputras (sons of the sea), with allusion of their linkage with Matsyavatar (the first of Vishnu’s incarnations).  Even the lowly coolies (porters) become Vasudev sena (army of Vasudev), alluding to the mythological story that Vasudev had carried his son, Krishna, in a basket on his head across the flooded river Yamuna.  The idea is that, in keeping with the heritage of the people, each group must be imbued with a sense of pride in its occupation, thus empowering them to discard the traditional docility that was associated with their lowly avocations.

Born in 1922 into an erudite family, “The Maharashtrian saint” of Brahmin upbringing, Dada does not reject tradition as part of building a new social order; he uses it to bring far-reaching changes to the existing order. He probes the whyness of Hindu tenets rather than blindly accepting thoughts held sacred by traditionalists or dry scholarship.

The 1991 movie “Antarnaad” (Hindi: अंतरनाद) ("Inner voice"), made by Shyam Benegal, is based on the Swadhyaya Movement by Pandurang Shastri Athavale. The lead actors are Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Girish Karnad, Shabana Azmi, Om Puri.

Revered as an Activist Philosopher, Dadaji died on October 25, 2003 at the age of 83, in Khetwadi in South Mumbai, India.

(Excerpts from The book “Vital Connections : Self, Society, God – Perspectives on Swadhyaya” .  Edited and with an introduction by Raj Krishan Srivastava)

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandurang_Shastri_Athavale

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarnaad

Vyas Poornima (Guru Poornima)

Vyas Poornima or Guru Poornima falls on the full moon day in the month of Ashadha, the fourth month of the lunar Indian calendar.  Men and women worship their spiritual Gurus or teachers on this day. 

As Gurus, in the earlier days, did not accept money from their students as fee, the students after having settled down in their life used to make annual offerings in accordance with their earnings.  The scholars also present their newly published books and take the blessings of their Guru on this day.  In a way, it used to be an old student’s day.

It is said that in each Dwapar yuga, some great scholar re-arranges the Vedas and the Puranas and is called Vyas.  The 28^th Veda Vyas (author of Mahabharata) born to Rishi Parashar and Matsyagandha, is known as Krishna Dwaipayana Veda Vyas.  He is called Krishna because he was dark in color, and Dwaipayan as he was born in a dweep or an island in a river. 

Veda Vyas spent a large part of his life in Haryana.  The  village Bilaspur (near Chhachhrauli-Jagadhri) is old Vyaspur, where on the bank of river Saraswati, It is believed that those who worship their Gurus are blessed by Saraswati, the goddess of learning.  They become sharp-minded and men of knowledge and are also ways held in high esteem.

Maharishi Veda Vyas was the greatest scholar of the Dwapar Yuga.  Besides scholars like Vidhura, he had a large number of disciples. To show their reverence to their Guru, these great scholarly students decided to meet their Guru every year on Ashadha Poornima day (the first day of Chaturmasya).  This being the rainy season in India, the Sanyasis or the Spritual Gurus settle down at a particular place and do not travel for four months and are said to  deliver scholarly discourses to their disciples and devotees. Another reason for selecting the Poornima day, is the belief that, like the moon which shines by reflecting the light of the sun and glorifies it, the disciples can shine like the moon by gaining knowledge from their guru.

Even though God is extremely simple, our minds being so complicated, we need a Guru -- not to teach us about our path, but to teach us about our mind, and to get us through the mind to that absolute simplicity, which is God.

On Vyas Poornima, people still observe this day as Guru Poornima day and recite Guru Gita (said to be a part of Skanda Purana) written by Veda Vyas. In this Lord Shiva explains to his consort Parvati the significance of worshipping the Guru.

Dhyaana moolam guror murtih;
Pooja moolam guror padam;
Mantra moolam guror vakyam;
Moksha moolam guror kripa

The form of the Guru is the object of meditation, the feet of the guru are the object of worship, the words of the Guru are the mantra and the grace of the Guru is                the means of liberation. (Guru Gita)

Acknowledgements:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vyasa

http://archives.amritapuri.org/matruvani/vol-99/dec99/99mv12hints.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guru_Gita

http://srigurugita.com/files/SriGuruGitaCompleteSanskrit.pdf

http://srigurugita.com/files/SriGuruGitaCompleteEnglish.pdf

http://indiatravelogue.com/pass/fest/guru-purnima.html

Om Tat Sat

Ultimate truth and desire

A spiritual seeker will have to ultimately realize that the spiritual understanding comes through realization and can only be experienced.  This is an out of world phenomenon which cannot be explained by man made words.  It is like trying to explain the beauty of nature through words and pictures.  We will be only seeing through the eyes of the author and we will not have the same experience.

  

Lord Krishna explains to Arjuna the knowledge of liberation, as the ultimate truth, which will relieve a person from bondage from this material existence.  Every person who has taken birth has to take countless births to dissolve the karmas created by his actions due to material desires. 

Buddha says: Desire is the root cause of all evil.  Desire and attachment to objects gives rise to emotions and anger.  From anger delusion is caused which in turn leads to unsteady mind, which destroys the intellect.  So a seeker of true spiritual knowledge has to control his body, mind and senses to be free of ego “I” and “mine” to attain final liberation.  

In chapter 2, verse 72, Lord Krishna explains to Arjuna - there is no delusion even at the moment of death , for one who has gained (realized) the ultimate truth and thus this ultimate truth relieves a person from bondage from this material existence. 

Esa brahmi sthitih partha nainam prapya vimuhyati

Sthitvasyam anta-kale pi brahma-nirvanam rcchati

This state is possible by a  spiritual seeker only when he relinquishes all desires of the mind through determination caused by the awareness (Jagruti) caused by consciousness. He is of steady mind only when he casts off the delusion and is satisfied in the Self through his Self alone. The intellectual knowledge is only established when mind withdraws the perceptions caused by the material objects.

Significance of Guru

Guru provides proper guidance to the seeker of knowledge, in the Atma-Gyan (self-realization ) and Brahma-Gyan (the realization of the ultimate- Brahman).  Guru dispels the darkness caused by ignorance.  (‘Gu’ means darkness and ‘ru’ means, its removal). God is extremely simple. But our minds are so complicated. That is why we need a Guru -- not to teach us about our path, but to teach us about our mind, and to get us through the mind to that absolute simplicity, which is God.

The Guru Gita further explains that “The form of the Guru is the object of meditation, the feet of the guru are the object of worship, the words of the Guru are the mantra and the grace of the Guru is the means of liberation”.

 Guru Paduka Stotram by Adi Shankara

Pray with complete devotion and surrender yourself to Shirdi Sai Baba.  By chanting even the first Slokha of Guru Paduka Stotram, our Sadguru Sai, will help us cross this samsara Sagara(the endless ocean of life).

Guru Paduka Strotram pdf in Sanskrit

Anantha samsara samudhra thara naukayithabhyam  guru bhakthithabhyam,

Vairagya samrajyadha poojanabhyam, namo nama sri guru padukhabyam.    1

Salutations and Salutations to the sandals of my Guru,

Which are like a boat, which helps me cross the endless ocean of life,
Which endows me, with the sense of devotion to my Guru,
And by worship of which, I attain renunciation

Kavithva varasini sagarabhyam, dourbhagya davambudha malikabhyam,

Dhoorikrutha namra vipathithabhyam, namo nama sri guru padukhabyam. 2

Salutations and Salutations to the sandals of my Guru,

Which is the ocean of knowledge, resembling the full moon,
Which is the water, which puts out the fire of misfortunes,
And which removes distresses of those who prostrate before it.

Natha yayo sripatitam samiyu kadachidapyasu daridra varya,

Mookascha vachaspathitham hi  thabhyam ,namo nama sri guru padukhabyam.3

Salutations and Salutations to the sandals of my Guru,

Which make those who prostrate before it,
Possessors of great wealth, even if they are very poor,
And which makes even dumb people into great orators.

Naleeka neekasa pada hrithabhyam, nana vimohadhi nivarikabyam,

Nama janabheeshtathathi pradhabhyam namo nama sri guru padukhabyam. 4

Salutations and Salutations to the sandals of my Guru,

Which attracts us, to lotus like feet of our Guru,
Which cures us, of unwanted desires,
And which helps fulfill the desires of those who salute.

Nrupali mouleebraja rathna kanthi sariddha raja jjashakanyakabhyam,

Nrupadvadhabhyam  nathaloka pankhthe, namo nama sri guru padukhabyam. 5

Salutations and Salutations to the sandals of my Guru,

Which shine like gems on the crown of a king,
Which shine like a maid in the crocodile infested stream,
And which make the devotees attain the status of a king.

Papandhakara arka paramparabhyam, thapathryaheendra khageswarabhyam,

Jadyadhi samsoshana vadaveebhyam namo nama sri guru padukhabyam.  6

Salutations and Salutations to the sandals of my Guru,

Which is like a series of Suns,  driving away the dark sins,
Which is like the king of eagles, driving away the cobra of miseries,
And which is like a terrific fire drying away the ocean of ignorance.

Shamadhi shatka pradha vaibhavabhyam,Samadhi dhana vratha deeksithabhyam,

Ramadhavadeegra sthirha bhakthidabhyam, namo nama sri guru padukhabyam.7

Salutations and Salutations to the sandals of my Guru,

Which endows us, with the glorious six qualities,
Which gives the students, the ability to go in to eternal trance,
And which helps to obtain perennial devotion to the feet of Vishnu.

Swarchaparana makhileshtathabhyam, swaha sahayaksha durndarabhyam,

Swanthachad bhava pradha poojanabhyam, namo nama sri guru padukhabyam. 8

Salutations and Salutations to the sandals of my Guru

Which bestows all desires of the serving disciples,
Who are ever involved in carrying the burden of service
And which helps the aspirants to the state of realization.

Kaamadhi sarpa vraja garudabhyam, viveka vairagya nidhi pradhabhyam,

Bhodha pradhabhyam drutha mokshathabhyam, namo nama sri guru padukhabyam. 9

Salutations and Salutations to the sandals of my Guru

Which is the Garuda ,which drives away the serpent of passion,
Which provides one, with the treasure of wisdom and renunciation,
Which blesses one ,with enlightened knowledge,
And blesses the aspirant with speedy salvation.

Let us understand about the need for Guru from Satcharitra

(Chapter II English Version)

On the first day of my (Govind Raghunath Dabholkar alias “Hemadpant”  author of the Original work sai Satcharitra in Marathi) arrival in Shirdi, there was a discussion between me and Balasaheb Bhate regarding the necessity of a Guru.  I contended, “Why should we lose our freedom and submit to others?  When we have to do our duty, why a Guru is necessary?  One must try his best and save himself.  What can the Guru do to a man, who does nothing but sleeps indolently”.  Thus I pleased free will, while Mr. Bhate took up the other side, viz. destiny, and said, “Whatever is bound to happen, must happen, even great men have failed, man proposes one way, but God disposes the other way.  Brush aside your cleverness,  pride or egoism won’t help you”.  This discussion, with all its pros and cons went on for an hour or so, and as usual no conclusion was arrived at.  We had to stop the discussion ultimately as we were exhausted. 

Then, when we went to the Masjid with others, Baba asked Kakasaheb Dixit the following:

“What was going on in the (Sathe’s) Wada?  What was the discussion about?”  and staring at me, Baba further added, “What did this ‘Hemadpant’ say?”

Hearing these words, I was much surprised.  The Masjid was at a considerable distance from Sathe Wada, were I was staying and where the discussion was going on.  How could Baba know our discussion, unless, He be Omniscient and Inner Ruler of all?

Next day, after Hemadpant’s meeting with Sai Baba, Kakasaheb went to baba and asked, “Baba, where to go?”  Baba said, “High up”.  Then, when he asked, “Where is the way?”  Baba said, “There are many ways leading there, there is one way from here (Shirdi) also.  The way is difficult.  There are tigers and wolves in the jungles on the way”.  Kakasaheb asked, “But Baba, what, if we take a guide with us?”  Baba answered, “Then, there is no difficulty.  The guide will take you straight to your destination, avoiding wolves, tigers and ditches etc., on the way.  If there be no guide, there is the danger of your being lost in the jungles or falling into ditches.   “

And further more about Guru, from chapter XVIII & XIX

Baba says “My guru never taught me any Mantra then, how shall I blow any Mantra in your ears?  Just remember that Guru’s tortoise-like loving glance gives us happiness. 

Do not try to get Mantra or Upadesh from anybody.  Make Me the sole object of your thoughts and actions and you will, no doubt, attain Paramartha (the spiritual goal of life).   Look at Me whole-heartedly and I, in turn, will look after you.  Sitting in this Masjid, I speak the truth, nothing but the truth.  No Sadhana or proficiency in the six Shastras, is necessary.  Hav faith and confidence in your Guru.  Believe that, Guru is the sole Actor or Doer.  Blessed is he, who knows the greatness of his Guru and thinks him to bethe Trimurthi - Hari (Lord Vishnu), Hara (Lord shiva) and Brahma (Lord Brahma), incarnate.”

Sai Baba, our Sadguru, we surrender completely to you.  Accept our humble prayers offered with devotion and guide us with the knowledge of self-realization.

Acknowlegements:
http://sanskrit.safire.com/pdf/GURU_GITA.pdf
Shri Sai Satcharitra